Founders

Leslie H. Wexner

Leslie H. Wexner, is the Founder, and former Chairman and CEO of L Brands. Mr. Wexner founded the company in Columbus, Ohio, in 1963 with one store and first- year sales of $160,000, growing the retail company into a global leader in lingerie, fragrance and beauty. 

Mr. Wexner has a profound interest in the development of tomorrow’s leaders, through the works of Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership; the Wexner Foundation; and The Ohio State University. His areas of community interest include The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; the Columbus Partnership; Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University; Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus; and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Columbus.

Mr. Wexner has received the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award of the United Way of America, Woodrow Wilson Award for Citizenship, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Knight of the Italian Republic and the American Jewish Committee Herbert H. Lehman Centennial Leadership Award.

Mr. Wexner is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; chairman, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Board and chairman emeritus of the Columbus Partnership. He is also a founding member and the first chair of The Ohio State University Foundation.

Mr. Wexner holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University and honorary degrees from Brandeis University; Hebrew Union College; Hofstra University; Marietta College; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; The Jewish Theological Seminary of America; The Ohio State University; University of Tel Aviv; and Yeshiva University.  Mr. Wexner was inaugurated by Harvard University into the Society of John Harvard Fellows and has served as a visiting lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Wexner and his wife, Abigail, are the parents of four children. 

John W. Kessler, Co-founder and Chairman, The New Albany Company 

Co-founder and chairman of The New Albany Company, Jack Kessler is one of central Ohio’s most accomplished real estate developers and influential civic leaders.  The developer of numerous residential communities across the country, Kessler’s commitment to the evolution of New Albany is both professional and very personal.  Along with co-founder, Les Wexner, Kessler was among its first residents.  

Kessler serves as a board member of The Columbus Partnership. Kessler previously served on the Board of Advisors for The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University and is former board member of The Orthopedic Foundation.

Kessler is past Chairman of The Ohio State University Board of Trustees; past Chairman of Ohio Public Works Commission; past Chairman of United Way of Central Ohio; past Chairman of Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce; past Chairman of Columbus Museum of Art; past Chairman of The Ohio Arts & Sports Facilities Commission and past President of the Columbus School for Girls. He also was on the Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Limited, Inc., Commercial Vehicle Group, Abercrombie & Fitch, Columbus Regional Airport Authority, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation, and Cleveland Federal Reserve.

Kessler was inducted into the Central Ohio Business Hall of Fame, received the Builder of Columbus Award, the Builders Exchange Columbus Award, Columbus Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Citizen, The Ohio State University Foundation Gerlach Award, the Columbus Public Schools Hall of Fame Award, Honorary Doctorate Degree from Otterbein University, Recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from The Ohio State University and received COSI’s John Glenn Inspirational Award in 2023.

Mr. Kessler is a graduate of The Ohio State University, College of Business Administration.

Mr. Kessler and his wife, Charlotte, live in New Albany.